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Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Here We Go Again!

Well everyone, I decided that I'm going to train for another marathon this winter. The saying is that third time's a charm and I'm hoping that's the case! Either that or I've actually gone crazy and in a few months I'll be back here crying that my body is not made for marathons. Only one way to find out!

If you've followed me the last two years, you would have seen the ups and downs of my marathon training. I was training for the Gettysburg Marathon both years, and failed miserably both times. Let's take a quick trip down memory lane...

First time (in 2016), I decided it was a good idea to train for a marathon while I was house hunting, changing jobs, and planning my wedding. I decided to DNS the marathon and was happy with my decision.

slightly better than running a marathon

Fast forward to the next year (2017) and training was going great! I was killing all of my runs and feeling strong....then I got injured. Took some time off to rehab my shoulder, and still decided to do the marathon to redeem myself. Ended up getting a DNF at the halfway point because my shoulder felt like it was going to fall off!

pitiful wave and surrounded by nothing but fields

So- I feel like I have to get one good marathon in before I can put this to rest. It's also one of my 30x30 goals, so I have to do it in the next 3 years! This time around, I feel like I have a great base built up from my half marathon PR, and I'm ready to get training.

I decided to branch out and not do the Gettysburg Marathon. There were a few things that I didn't like about the race for myself (it has great reviews though, so these are all just personal preference)- the roads were all open to traffic, there were no pace groups, scenery wasn't great, and it was small. I know I don't want to do a huge marathon, but I did want a closed course and pace groups, and preferably somewhere pretty by the water. While I was thinking all of this over and trying to decide what to do, I saw Sokphal posting about the Newport News Marathon. I told Dan about it, and he said "I'll be in Newport News that week for work too!" If that's not a sign that I should do this race, then I don't know what to tell you!

*I saw the siiiign*...and I signed up for a marathon

The race is March 4, which means that I'll be training in the winter, but *fingers crossed* the race will have good weather! There are great reviews for the race, including "fast course", "amazing crowd support", "fantastic PR-friendly course". If I'm not selling the race enough, allow me to say mention the post-race festival, which features "Complimentary runner meal from 6 different food trucks and 2 beers or wine". I'M IN!!!

Training starts this week, and I'll be sharing my weekly training logs again. I'm also going to talk about what plan I'm following, and how I'm incorporating cross training! I can't wait to get started and put all of my marathon demos to rest. Let's go!

Who else is going to train with me!?What goal do you keep failing at but won't give up?Am I crazy?

As a local I’m fascinated that you picked this race, just because most people (locals and out-of-towners alike) tend to opt for Shamrock in Virginia Beach the following week. I am really curious to hear how it goes and what you think of it!